National News

Poll: Politics is for losers, according to the nation's youth

Young people increasingly look down on politics as useless and think only losers choose a life of government work, a pessimistic new poll found.

The study, which was conducted by USA Today, concluded that only 39 percent of the under-29 crowd thought government service was a worthwhile life commitment. In contrast, 53 percent of people 30 and older said participating in the political process was important.

Still, 66 percent of all respondents agreed that the best way to make a positive change in the world was to eschew government and work for a non-profit charity.

Illinois Rep. Aaron Shock, a Republican and the U.S.’s youngest congressman, said he thinks young people are more jaded than ever about government.

“There’s a skepticism of government,” said Shock in a statement to USA Today. “Young people say, if I want to feed the hungry or make a difference for cancer patients, it’s easier to do that through a non-profit and see the tangible results up close than, say, trying to push for federal funding to do the same.”

Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University, said the results were unsurprising given that so many of his students take an extremely negative view of government.

“[There is] a general sense that politics is for losers, for ne’er-do-wells, for the corrupt and for the under-motivated and greedy,” he said.